Jeremiah 31:31-32

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” vs. 31

Presumably people encountering Jeremiah on the streets of Jerusalem learned to shut their ears to his diatribes and lamentations. He was a gloomy prophet who saw nothing but disaster ahead for the city and the country. People may even have gone in another direction when they saw him coming. But on this particular day he surprises them with a vision of hope. He tells them that even though the old covenant, the one based on law and established at Sinai, has been broken repeatedly by the Israelites, the Lord will not abandon the relationship. There will be no divorce! That good news, that God is faithful even when we are not, has continued to bring hope to God’s people of every tribe and nation in every time and place. We have been brought into relationship with God through the covenant of our baptisms, a covenant that is affirmed regularly in our worship and liturgies. God promises to give us life and salvation and we in turn promise to love, honor, serve, and obey. And then stuff happens! We abandon faith and stop trusting God. We worship power and wealth without reservation. We break our baptismal vows. And still God continues to be faithful. There will be no divorce. God’s promises are forever!

Thought for the Day: How is our baptismal covenant different from the Sinai covenant?